India dismisses Pakistani media report on surgical strikes

New Delhi, (IANS) India on Friday dismissed a Pakistani media report that cited Foreign Secretary S. Jaishankar as telling German Ambassador Martin Ney that there was no surgical attack carried out by the Indian Army on terror launch pads across the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmir last month.

External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Vikas Swarup said the report titled “Indian FS admits surgical strikes was a bluff” carried in the News International English daily of Pakistan “is completely concocted and baseless”.

“The German Ambassador, Martin Ney, was in the group of foreign envoys briefed by the Foreign Secretary on September 29 on the surgical strikes. They have had no further conversation since on this subject,” Swarup said.

The Indian Army carried out the surgical strikes across the LoC in the early hours of September 29.

This came after the September 18 cross-border terror attack on an army camp at Uri in Jammu and Kashmir in which 19 Indian soldiers lost their lives.

India has blamed the Pakistan-based terror outfit Jaish-e-Mohammed for the attack.

The News International cited a meeting between German authorities and Pakistan embassy officials and claimed that Jaishankar told Ney that the surgical attacks did not take place.

After the Indian Army operation on September 29, Director General Military Operations Lt. Gen. Ranbir Singh told the media that the surgical strikes were carried out “based on very credible and specific information”.

He added that “some terrorist teams had positioned themselves at launch pads along the LoC with an aim to carry out infiltration and terrorist strikes in Jammu and Kashmir and in various other metros in our country”.

“During these counter terrorist operations, significant casualties have been caused to the terrorists and those who are trying to support them,” Lt. Gen. Singh said.

Following this, Foreign Secretary Jaishankar briefed the envoys of 22 nations, including German Ambassador Ney, regarding the operation.